Ken's Degree Architectural Portfolio

Kennett Lim Roong Xiang Architectural Portfolio

Selected degree works Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture June 2019

I find the most challenging, yet enjoyable aspect of a project is its design process. It tells stories to be developed, ideas scrapped; abstract in play. Everchanging discourse of thoughts resembles how architecture, emotion, history, ergonomics, and mother nature concord to allow structures which human relate with; It is understood by the containers accommodating the factors in architecture that it is understood, the social action and the flows of economy. Experimenting, the concept of variation depicts how the extent of formulating architecture to be in an entity to differentiate the two realms: reality and interiority. Whereby, both independently could be a component to reciprocate with one another.

As I constantly input time and energy to the discipline, I realized that (in my mind), architecture is a broader definition than it used to be very long ago when I started my foundation, in a larger urban sphere. I’ve understood that architecture equals to the living structure in the everyday society needs, and the common needs heeds a shelter, not just any shelter; a place they can belong. It is a separated experience which distinguishes the difference of realms. A positive atmosphere of sort which invites people to understand how a built space can affect memory and mood towards a structure with the Earth.

I now understand of what architecture could be, instead of saying I’m designing a building; I would rather say that I am trying to create an environment that is part with the city. The edges define the dimensional plane that is more than a wall or a façade. It becomes crucial or complicated. Just like transitions from scenes to scenes in movies, edges tell a story between people living inside and the outside, the private and the public, the capital and the city. The study adopts the city as a project, therefore the study of the edge isn’t observational per se, but an intended as a compendium of potentially to instigate a projection of a different yet apposite dimensional plane.

During designing, I instigate to understand the concept of intensity of porosity which creates an edge of the space, featuring spatial flexibility and how people unconscious of using path, and space as their routine. This portfolio shares the process of the work I’ve done in defining edges through the Ben-Bow Learning Centre, Settled Vessel of Penang, Zazu play house, and Midnight Sonata Cultural Centre to create a realm which resonates with people in specific contexts. The flow of social actions, historical roots, nature’s landscape optimized precisely for the public needs. In this motive of architectural relinking, the edges of built form are totally blurred to create a beneficial edge effect for the city.

Learning

Centre,

Visitor’s Interpretive Centre,

House

of

Cultural

leisure,

&

p.g.

Klang

Penang

p.g.

Ipoh

Innovation

p.g.

centre, Johor

p.g.

Klang, Selangor.

Ben-Bow learning centre Learning Centre for Klang

What’s wrong with what’s left, is it right?

Ben Bow Enrichment Centre | Klang

Learning is essential in life. The learning center partakes the motive into the concept of enlivening the place of Klang with various sources of learnability.

The concept in space molded to cater the essence of learning. A programme that focuses of enrichment, a programme that creates and suits the realm of its own within the amassed built form.

The design sets to be a dialogue between man and built form whereby a sense of visual communication is incautiously established. The play of façade design apparent with the heavy streets of Jalan Besar intrigues interest of the volumetric form of the learning centre, The walls exteriorly depicts the many moods and faces. Repeated little whole mixed with several spontaneous concerted large openings along the shell of the built structure; It elaborates the spaces within the learning centre.

Spatial uniqueness

The intention dwells to create an approach of a different positive quality of a realm through the sense of enclosure in the site.

Space is not just a defined room in the traditional sense, but a sense of “attractor and flow. The “weight” of the attractor has spatial qualities such as scale, view , transparency, luminancy, and capacity; whereas flow has circulation influenced the shape onto how people of Klang uses the space.

Learning Centre for Klang Urban Study

Low Engagement

Pass-bye

Horizontal linkage

Temporal

The Matrix The flow depicts the routineful journey of the passers-by in Klang. The rhythm of gradual movement from home to nodes, vise-versa further accentuated the intention of commerce- service, and retail, which in turn an ephemeral atmosphere of the site hence the neutralizing the liveliness of the site; arrival is an unremarkable moment.

The rehearsed content of Klang’s lifestyle.

In counterpoint to the formal naivety of the timid royal town, insisting on the primitive expression of the horizontal lifestyle of people adapting with the modern environment and economic trend. The commerce centric district hence diminishes its quality of liveability and leisure hood.

People wants to survive, isn’t that what life is now these days?

Design Development

restaurant

Learning Centre for Klang

∙ bestowed-

∙ bestowed- & special tool/ repair shop

Molding architecture

Snippets of openings

∙ ceded- repair shop

Formulating the learning centre

∙ bequeath- unknown

grocer & convenient store

The faces of the wall

∙ ceded- tools & equipment shop

∙ bestowedRecessed openings

Emphasis

Opaque

The strategy study implies the developing architectural language which is translates the urban formulation into volumetric settings. The form follows existing tangible experiences, urban perception, as well as spatial programming of the Learning Centre of Klang. Modulating the faces.

Space to Be Ground floor plan

The fountain Inviting realm to sit and wait complement along with water dispenser counter within the growth allotment space

Design rendition Learning Centre For Klang

Space to Meet First floor plan

Spatial Semantics

Amplify the current condition of the space

Space to Learn Second floor plan

Growth allotment - The fountain

Activity space - Landmark signs

Space for Me Third floor plan

Zen space - Bustling quietness

The fountain The plan introduces the interpretation of the surrounding spatial elements of the built form of a shophouse.

Accessibility is refined into a porous manner of having entrances as part of the active frontages. Thus, formulates the welcoming spatial condition with the form along with the “fountain� where sprouting of herbaceous plants and rehydration as an effort to provide a place to be: sit and wait.

The landmark signs

Bustling quietness

A space to meet & space to learn offers space for leisure and recreational use.

Spacious exhibitions, a compacted performance & dance theatre, selflearning workshops, meeting lounges, discussion rooms, library, mini park; cumulatively serves the intention for people to be attached to the space as a method of self enrichment whilst waiting. Temporarily. Awhile. As long as they need,

Space for me allows people to be constricted from the hectic ever going business lifestyle of Klang. This transcended space allows people, young or old; visitor or local, to really have a peace of their mind. brining them away from the plane of reality of the ground.

This space offers relaxation and a sense of belonging for the ones longing for a quiescent place along Jalan Besar.

Axonometric Learning Centre For Klang

THE WALLS DO TALK

Ben Bow Enrichment Centre | Learning Centre for Klang

Shophouses along Jalan Besar, Klang.

Georgetown, Penang.

The anchored eviction Visitor’s interpretive centre

VAST VULNERABLE A Settled Vessel, a people’s centre| Clans’ Yeoh bridge , Penang 定 姓 格| 杨 的 桥 舟

槟

,城

What was home is now a common attraction. Imagine a home being interrupted with buzzes of tourists here and there. Neighbors shifting out, houses fencing up. Homes become shops. Prayers become a museum. Why is this? For the old they just let it be. They cant so anything much except to adapt or let it be alone.. Withered and aged; just like the century old settlements.

So why is this necessary? Why change has their lives become for the better; or worse. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past, or present, are certain to miss the future. The culture prevails. The Chinese essence of a community still resides along the jetty. But for Yeoh… Time has take its toll on its memory. The snap of change is dissipating the meaning of the home for the surname of Yeoh.

Thus the intention: to elevate the presence of the Yeoh’s bridge by showcasing it’s weakness as its strengths.

杨

杨 yang

Yeoh’s Jetty

What was home is now a common attraction.

Imagine a home being interrupted with buzzes of tourists here and there. Neighbors shifting out, houses fencing up. Homes become shops. Prayers become a museum.

Why is this? For the old they just let it be.

They cant so anything much except to adapt or let it be alone.. Withered and aged; just like the century old settlements.

So why is this necessary? Why change has their lives become for the better; or worse.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past, or present, are certain to miss the future. The culture prevails. The Chinese essence of a community still resides along the jetty. But for years... Time has take its toll on its memory. The snap of change, dissipates the meaning of the home for the clan of Yeoh.

What the cultural and historical relations informs the visitors are: the way of life. The heritage in bestowing names of the clans to a much relevant present where job opportunities hides their meaning of life.

The Chinese are particular and meticulous people although old and worn; Life after freedom.

Clan Jetties

George Town, Penang

Thus the intention: to elevate the presence of the Yeoh’s bridge by showcasing it’s weakness as its strengths. Elaborating life of culture in an ambient presence of a mass which acts as an extension of the clan’s journey on the bridge

Deep Path The linearity which invites presence in a soundless story.

Visitor’s interpretive centre

Site study

Solemnity Acknowledging the quiescent; generations of the old Chinese family culture.

Visual dialogue The bold perspective highlights a told story and life’s meaning of the site.

Close to home The ocean, the meaning of origin. The families of sailors, and refugees striving for a new beginning in Penang.

Discovering potentials Site’s sequence

A soul’s extension An intention of the elevated platform. The movement in history.

Midnight Hardship Voidful experience

Longboat Zhong Linear journey

Trijicon Echo

Linear concentric motion

Settled Vessel Linear levelling

Echoing the soul through exploration Formulating memory with people

A continuous journey Following existing pattern

A jetty's platform

A tribute by improving the bridge as a platform

Elevated paths

Site Spatial semantics

reflects different pace of the jetty and how it’s story with the other jetties

Visitor’s interpretive centre

Framing the repetition

Representing the underbelly of a boat. A means of memory and depth in the space.

Shelter

A sense of belonging. Intimate spaces with vast coverings.

Heightening the planks

The visitors interpretive Understanding relationships.

Understanding life.

The concept of levelling embraces the various dilapidated layers of history and reconstitution of the people along the jetty. Henceforth the strategical vantage point to observe the view of Yeoh’s Jetty whilst journeying the horizontal stretch of the architecture emphasizes the may attributes which builds up the culture, religion and history, otherwise, of the clan jetty.

The levels intend to showcase the various spatial poetics formed of the site’s collective background, voices, and the future of the clan jetty’s continuing presence in Penang. Heritage or not, the place has seen history through thick and thin throughout the stretch of the century; years old of many descendants became ancestors.

The architecture provides respect and opportunity as a way to interpret lives thought the linear journey of the upside boat. The bold yet subtle presence of the built form informs and embraces the life of the withered and old.

A common ethereal First floor plan

The levelled experience Section plane

The memoir journey Second floor plan

Vantage point for religion

1

Trespassing province

2

The Chinese people and culture.

Evicted from home.

Visitor’s Interpretive Centre

Spatial Rendition

Underbelly reflection

In the journey through the monstrous seas.

3

Sails of memory

Docking a new life in Penang.

A standing name

Amount the moments of those who ventured and vanished.

settlement at a different home

Moving on to the present and the future for the clans to live together.

4

5

6

The solemn settled vessel In the year 1918 the Chinese ancestor of Chew Jetty heard that jobs were aplenty here in Penang.

Many were attracted to earn a living over here. As the number of foreign ships that anchored at the harbour increased, so did the stilts. Initially, planks were placed on the stilts to enable passengers to disembark without getting wet.

Later on, the planks were joined together to construct a jetty.

The architectural journey take cue from the abrupt stop of the storyline of the jetty. The resemblance forms the question mark of the unending scene of the jetty's history. In hopes the question derives marks as an event which continues the meaning and story of the Jetty through Yeoh’s Jetty.

1

4

5

2

3

6

The Settled Vessel Visitor’s Interpretive Centre

The Settled Vessel

people’s interpretive centre| Clans’ Yeoh bridge , Penang 槟 城

,

姓 杨 桥

|

生中 活心 的 体 验

定 格 的 舟

The lonely jetty, Clan Jetty Yeoh.

Ipoh, Perak.

An abstract idea House of Leisure for Ipoh

WHAT ELSE IN THE PARK? Nala Playhouse| Taman D R Seenivasagam

The illustration depicts the park being [“incomplete�]. A formal journey throughout the park is concluded with a vast empty tarmac land, underused and forgotten. only used to park vehicles, and as a means to connect the opposite side of Kinta River to the park. My strategy is to captivate the circulation across my site, an old withered tar-scape space.

Thus the idea of how the architecture could continue its completion along the journey through the park. Not only as monumental as respectful. But something playful as well.

Taman D.R. Seenivasagam Ipoh

Pass-Bye

Empty

Boring

Exposed

=

A constant move Strength

Not attracting Weakness

A flat land Opportunity

Just… exposed…

Threat

The playhouse

What's formidable is the hardened empty, landscape which offers quite little for something so large. Quite confusing yet empty site; a rock compared with a pebble.

Its an answer why the park is really quite undulated. What is the human bond with the park and the city?

Relationship! That’s it!

Why bother to an empty-layered ass the park is. The people who constantly use the park has a relation of sort with it. But if a playscape were to be proposed, it might bring more interest and life back to the park.

The land

Site plan n.t.s.

House of Leisure for Ipoh The approach

Lengthen experience Circulation desired

Variety

Spatial composition & mixture

Interest

Activity of interests

The clear site is given the opportunity to be an amazing set piece of a sculpted monumental architecture. The amassed built form where it seamlessly rises from the ground with forged spaces in it. It will continue to accommodate the fluctuating yet stagnant demographic of the park. a space made to flourish spread its landscape along a patch of the ground proving serenity can be achieved with an idea of a huge stone.

The didactic intention of a sculpted land which continues movement as a “path-space relationship” where the user experience is rather enhanced along the journey when crossing the lonesome land. Thus the many activities prompted the idea of it being an activity zone of the park; an anticipated nested playground.

The proposed active activity where the architecture is built around it. Being molded, surrounded within it’s capacity. It stretches the understanding of work, pace, and life when participating in these spaces.

The means of people’s life and what opportunity these spaces could evoke the interests in a person needs :

2. Developing framing relations

3. Shift & rotate

4. Being humble to nature

5. Programming identity

6. Attracting functions

House of Leisure for Ipoh

Diagramming design

1. Along a circulation path

Site as an opportunity To complete the park Spatial tectonics

The park lacks a singularity of making it a whole; the absences of a conclusion. A formal journey throughout the park can be said to be incomplete as the circles passes every individual node then to a sudden, vast, unfilled space indicating the such ‘lack of excitement’ as reflected upon the park. The design intention aims to conclude the park.

This project proposes to create a boardwalk with spaces that bridges to the now-old park. The objective is to encourage the development of a leisure house which has a relationship to the community through attractive and user-friendly programmes.

The linear built form is composed by fragmented individual volumes arranged linearly along the stretch of the circulation within. .

Playfield Playground element.

Ping Pong Simple interesting game.

OUTCOME

Rock Wall Interesting intimidating game.

The exitance of such architecture reciprocates with the seamless blend of excitement inside the house of leisure. Not only it results to the park’s vibrancy; but rather potentially reaches out to a whole new demographic for the whole of Ipoh perhaps.

Nala, house of leisure impacts the site and location of Taman D R Seenivasagam as it provides:

House of Leisure for Ipoh

Projecting a diagram

Provision for future consideration

Skate park Reviving the unforgiven.

Rooftop Coffee Simple sip.

For opportunities and events to take place in the coming periods.

Platform to perform Bringing interested through opportunity.

Completing the park

Relating to the intention of the architecture. A completed journey into rejuvenating the park

Shower heads Cleaning up after play.

An emphasis point for Ipoh

A point of interest for the whole Ipoh

Floating landscape A proper rest point.

Administrating Efficiently managing the park.

Parking Giving vehicles a rest

Services Service rooms for keeping the building alive

Visitor’s Interpretive Centre The Nala Play House

The bland tar road, Taman D. R. Seenivasagam

Muar, Johor.

The first strum Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar

SOUNDS OF A BYGONE ERA Midnight Sonata

| Muar

To understand the lifestyle of Muar, the appreciation comes not just only from written form from textbooks, articles, newspapers, and so on having a dialogue with the locals Their many ways of explaining their way of their lifestyle long way before I was born opens up many chapters which broadens the relationship of people and Muar itself.

Depict the slow pace of life in the early days instead of the rather pace Muar is in now, stagnant.

Earlier in the lifetime of Muar, people sought for opportunity from the other worlds and then, stumbled upon Muar, Johor, Malaysia, Home. the change aren’t changes per se, but rather a development of Muar’s lifestyle. Progress takes place, people needs to earn. Opportunities are elsewhere. Lifestyle and culture will change memories faded But, this is a chance to elaborate onto how architecture can be a potential to gentrify vibrancy interest as a cultural and innovation centre of Muar.

Muar isn’t absent, just not in tune.

Jalan Maharani & Jalan Abdullah Bandar Maharani, Muar

The activity in Muar is rather stale, through the eyes of a rather visitor then a permanent resident over there. The streets a rather vibrant over the course through time where the street is still now a moneyearning oriented function of the street where it was 50 years ago.

Muar, has done much more then ever before aside from it’s many delicacies and activities. Being one of the cleanest towns in Malaysia for being honoured as a town of royalty. As a result, opportunities bloomed but not enough to bring back the attention of the sailed farewells to the north.

In due course, the main reason why people are still attracted to our site in Muar is: food. This factor is the wide celebrated anecdote for people from Kedah to Singapore to travel to have a quick share of the delicacy.

Thus, this derives the primary question of how a culturally engrained domestic architecture be adopted to provide opportunity through the cultural subject of Muar and challenge the intention to gravitate people into for a long run.

Urban palimpsest Vernacular attributes of the urban scale and proportion composition.

Stretching loops Enhancing urban connectivity through existing movement patterns

Substituting repetition

Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar

Developing relations

Culture x Innovation = an urban cultural landmark.

Continuing a journey Intersecting cultural journey experience through nodes by nodes

Site plan n.t.s

Finding its tune A dormant heritage

The once popular musical troupes and drama organisations could be found along these three streets. Having flourished for almost two decades, concerts, theatrical performances and street parades had given rise to countless of mesmerising cultural events in town, making Muar a reputable city of culture.

Unfortunately, traditional folklore and culture fail to resist the impact of time. With the increasing popularity of TV and radio programs, musical troupes have seen steady decline since the 80s.

Innovating development

How’s the innovation?

Sound + (Light + Music + Vibrations) = Opportunity

Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar

The cultural and innovation mixture

Exposure

Revitalizing

Legacies

Platform of opportunity

The relationship of sound and architecture can be merged to create a significant piece of interaction and attention for the said stagnant musical culture.

This intention of merging sound with other elements in the cultural centre to elaborate the notion of having appreciation by showcasing how was musical and performance as an interesting part of their lives depicted back then.

The sense, the Cultural and Innovation Centre of Muar to be an opportunity to be a platform to make aware of this legacy of cultural performance in Muar.

Site as an opportunity Site as palimpsest Spatial tectonics

1. Desired path

2. Substituting repetition

3. Adopting site geometry

4. Clustering forms

5. Hierarchy of space

6. 12 walls

6. Infrastructure as axis

7. Final scheme

Listing opportunities

Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar

Ideas of the cultural centre

Spatial features

Spatial Semantics Resonating spaces n.t.s.

Ground plane

First level

Tiling array

The Loud Silence The design of the cultural and innovation centre of Muar responds o the necessity of expressing the monumental subject in architecture. Through understanding of what it means as an urban cultural landmark for it to be a bold expression of change to a quiescent town like Muar.

This way, an architectural plan becomes a storyteller, more comprehensive for anyone that is interested to decipher it. The idea development echoes the aim to stimulate imagination and offer an opportunity at the project to explore various activities provided

by Midnight Sonata.

Water theatre

Whisper theatre

Formulating spaces which accommodates the movement is sound and theatrical play.

Spatial gallery

The emphasis of it.

Sound cymatics

First level

Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar Bandar Maharani

Midnight Sonata Sound Home

Cultural and Innovation Centre| Bandar Maharani, Muar

Cultural and Innovation Centre for Muar Spatial projection

A continuous memory, Jalan Maharani

Thank you.